San Diego Chargers: Philip Rivers Needs to Let His Game Talk for Him

Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Steve Young, Troy Aikman, Brett Favre. What do these names make you think? To me, these names represent champions and class. They are guys who played the game the way it's meant to be played. Guys who won on the field and carried themselves well off the field.

Philip Rivers. What does this name make you think. For me, this name makes me think San Diego Chargers QB, draft day trade, and trash talker.

The first two parts of my initial thought are fine. This is what sticks out about Rivers, since he is still a young quarterback who has yet to accomplish anything major in the NFL. With that being said, the trash talking is not a positive for a young quarterback trying to make it in this league.

We all like fire, and sometimes a guy like Eli Manning does not show us enough fire. However, Rivers' outbursts are just classless. Trash talking at Jay Cutler off the sideline was uncalled for, especially when some would argue Cutler is the better QB of the two. Trash talking at the fans after the Colts game is something that a quarterback trying to be the face of a franchise should not be doing.

As a player and a leader, he is supposed to be above that. Can you imagine any of those previously mentioned names this way after a big win on the road? And wasn't he on the bench in the fourth quarter while his back up lead the team down the field for the game winning touchdown? Isn't this the same Philip Rivers who is on a Charger team that last year was accusing the Patriots of acting classless after winning on the road? Looks to me like Philip should take a look in the mirror. Maybe his "classy" teammates should have a talk with him.

What Philip should do is be thankful that he has the best player in the league lining up behind him. A lot of the "success" he has had as a QB in terms of wins and losses could be attributed to that guy behind him and the defense that put Jay Cutler in the position to be heckled. How do you think Jay would do if he had a certain someone lining up behind him? Maybe it would be his team winning the AFC West and not Philip's.

Philip Rivers could be a solid QB in this league. He obviously shows that he has the tools. He also has a team that is capable of helping him accomplish what many great quarterbacks could not. However, one thing Philip needs to do is learn to act with a little more class. He actually handles himself well in press conferences and gives good answers. He does exude that confidence that we don't always see from Eli and others. However, there is a fine line between confidence and cockiness, and confidence is what makes you great.

Phil needs to focus more on proving that letting go of Drew Brees was not a mistake, and pay less attention to the Indy fans. Let the fans take care of the meaningless banter while you take care of business on the field, Phil.